Film Junk Podcast Episode #283: The Expendables and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
0:00 – Intro
4:05 – Headlines: Karl Urban is the New Judge Dredd, Sam Worthington to Star in Commando Remake, Terminator 3-D Animated Remake, Lights Camera Jackson: The-11 Year-Old Film Critic
20:35 – Review: The Expendables
57:45 – Review: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
1:47:30 – Trailer Trash: Skyline, Enter the Void, Unstoppable
2:03:30 – Other Stuff We Watched: BBC’s Sherlock, Man v Food: Season 3, Lock Up, 12th & Delaware, Marooned, Billion Dollar Brain, Cropsey, Johnny Handsome, Until the Light Takes Us, And the Pursuit of Happiness, The Last Lovecraft, Mad Monkey Kung Fu, Standard Operating Procedure, Spartan, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Cobra
3:05:45 – Junk Mail: Film Junk Mega Mix, Favourite and Best Actors, Devil Trailer, Movies with Right Wing Agendas, TIFF Tips
3:26:20 – Twitter Poll: Why did Scott Pilgrim Fail at the Box Office?
3:31:30 – This Week’s DVD Releases
3:33:50 – Outro
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Comments (53)
Whoa. Almost 4 hrs long. Might have to hiking with this one. Nice to hear Kurt and not Reed. I love Reed, but I would probably want to kill him if I had to listen to his review of Scott Pilgrim.
Posted by Rusty on August 16th, 2010Simply Epic.
Posted by Gord on August 16th, 2010Jay is one of my favorite people on the planet, but I just know that his Scott Pilgrim review is going to piss me off.
Posted by Ethan on August 16th, 2010Yeah baby, 3.5 hours. That’s what I’m talking about.
Posted by BigBlackClock on August 16th, 2010Forget Lord of Rings — this is the type of epic I like.
Posted by Antho42 on August 16th, 2010“Johnny Handsome” and “Mad Monkey Kung Fu”?
Man would you please see “Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang” already?
I´m ready to send my redundant DVD or HDDVD (i´ll keep my bluray) so I can hear your opinions on it!
Hit me with an adress please. You see my email.
=)
3,5 hours? NICE!
Posted by ColinZeal on August 16th, 2010Colin: Jay talked about Kiss Kiss Bang Bang on episode 262.
Posted by Sean on August 16th, 2010GREG!!! Steve Austin not that bad of an actor!!? HE IS HORRIBLE!!! Way worse than Lundgren! Every line he says sounds like he is reading off a teleprompter!
Posted by Niklas on August 16th, 2010… his arms are awesome though..
Posted by Niklas on August 16th, 2010HOLY SHIT SO LONG
Posted by Henrik on August 16th, 2010Wow! Must´ve totally missed that. Or fallen asleep probably as sometimes I listen to the podcast while “shutting my eyes in bed”, in the middle of the night.
=)
But ok, the rest of you guys then?
Posted by ColinZeal on August 16th, 2010This episode proves it; Sean has the best taste on the podcast.
The Expendables was OK but Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is one of the best films of the year.
Get a grip, Jay and Greg.
Posted by Steve on August 16th, 2010I have not listened, saw Expendables, will see Pilgrim tonight.
Expendables was fun because I was slightly drunk and with a group of guys but it was shit-slapped together. The dialogue was all over the place – scripted one part, ad-libbed the next. It appeared to me, sitting in a brand new ICON theater with topline digital projectors, that the production used multiple methods (or sources) for the exterior city scenes that were poorly transferred / digitized – shit looked awful! The early scene with Jason Statham at the door of his girlfriends house was totally out of focus. And I hate fight/action scenes that always stay in close-up and mid range shots – give me some wides!
They really stopped trying after they got the hardest part of the film done – signing up the actors!
Posted by rus in chicago on August 16th, 2010Jay saves this podcast at 43:40 – awesome stuff.
It would have been nice if Frank or Reed as the fourth member. Or Charlotte – yep. Charlotte – hmmmmmmm.
Since there was a Mulroney mention – Hey Reed – Tanya Kim what do ya rate her out of ten ?
Gentlemen – we’re still waiting on the new Cantankerous.
Posted by Mark In Ottawa on August 16th, 2010I haven’t seen too much of Tanya, but I would rate her a 5 out of 10. Hey, I’m a harsh critic. Maybe that’s why I’m single. More likely because I’m a 0.5 out of 10.
Posted by Reed Farrington on August 16th, 20105 OUT OF 1O ? REED ! C’MON – THOSE LEGS ARE AT LEAST A 6 BY THEMSELVES !!!!!
Posted by Mark In Ottawa on August 16th, 2010I can understand why jay and gregg didn’t like scott pilgrim, the movie aims at a really specific mark, and if you’re not in it then you are not going to get it. As for me, I did grow with video games, and I thought this movie was hilarious, easily one of the funniest movies of the year.
There are parts were I would get a video game reference (like the clash at demonhead and crash and the boys as band names) and I was the only person in the theater laughing.
I thought the trailer to this was terrible, and I wasn’t really looking forward to it, but I am glad I saw it because this is easily one of the best movies of the year.
Posted by Regus on August 16th, 2010Epic podcast!
So I guess I’m the only one that liked Dolph Lundgren in The Expendables. Good times overall and awesome to see this film with a full theatre that was totally into it.
As for Scott Pilgrim, I thought it kind of sucked. I did laugh in parts, mainly in the beginning, but I was quite bored near the end. Very disappointing and this is coming from a guy that loved Kick-ass. There were some small moments in the film I really liked, but as an overall film it did not come together at all.
Anyway, big fan of Kurt, dude knows his shit, so was very happy to hear him on the podcast again.
Posted by KeithTalent on August 16th, 2010Thanks KT. But still embarrassed with The Lair of the White Worm gaffe. Hazy VHS viewings. Fucking Hugh Grant! Good on you Gaspari for calling us out on our bullshit.
I think Scott Pilgrim (and Edgar Wright’s filmography in general) is a film of small moments and hyper-detail. But hidden in all the noise is an interesting self-image of younger-folks. I think it is a very good film that will grow it’s little cult in the opposite way that cult-poser flicks like REPO! THE GENETIC OPERA will eventually die off. I look forward to seeing where SPvTW exists in pop culture 5 years from now.
Posted by Kurt on August 16th, 2010Regarding the water boarding:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LPubUCJv58
Posted by Jay C. on August 16th, 2010The waterboarding scene and the Schwarzenegger scene are two perfect scenes for me. The movie had several more.
Posted by Henrik on August 16th, 2010Gregs reaction to putting both Kurt and Jay in their place was priceless by the way.
Posted by Henrik on August 16th, 2010When I saw Arnold in the trailer I realised how much I want a new Arnold movie.. The guy has presence, I´ll give him that
Posted by pcch7 on August 16th, 2010“Gregs reaction to putting both Kurt and Jay in their place was priceless by the way.”
And well earned on top!
Posted by kurt on August 16th, 2010When Jay starts enjoying bison gravy and organic vegan cheese on his poutine will he like Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.
When Greg starts enjoying working with the general teenage populace that go to job interviews late with soiled shorts will he like Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.
Posted by Alechs on August 16th, 2010I don’t think is fair to compare Juno with Speed e Scott, because the plot of Juno talks about a serious problem of teens: to get pregnant with 16 years old, and how to deal with it, and accept the idea of a adoption, a film with humor of course instead of drama, but could be a good drama, and this others Speed e Scott are only to have fun.
Posted by QUEIROZ on August 16th, 2010Jay is the real talent in this show!! “Adrien we did!!” LOL
Posted by QUEIROZ on August 16th, 2010As far as best acting goes, I think Meryl Streep deserves some mentioning.
Posted by Xidor on August 16th, 2010Sorry I couldn’t make it out for this one.
Mad Monkey Kung Fu was epic!
Posted by Wintle on August 16th, 2010Wintle I miss you so much. I have even been seing movies that remind me of you lately, like American Ninja!
Posted by Henrik on August 17th, 2010With the rundown of Peter Weir films I was surprised no one mentioned that he’s got a new one on the way. I think “The Way Back” is finished or in post production but it doesn’t have a release date yet.
Posted by Mason on August 17th, 2010Did anyone mention Daniel Day-Lewis? He must be up there
Posted by pcch7 on August 17th, 2010I need to revisit some ninja movies. Have you seen Ninja III: The Domination? The first ten minutes of that movie was one of the cornerstones of the Rose City ethos. I know people who are still making throwing stars out of pop cans because of it. And check out the trailer for Norwegian Ninja when you get a chance. I had hoped it would have played at Toronto After Dark this year, but no dice.
Posted by Wintle on August 17th, 2010I haven’t seen Ninja III, but I’ll check it out. I watched Goemon which is a weird, sortof Sin City-esque attempt at a live-action animé. It’s confusing enough, and epic enough, and it has some cool shit. I also watched Geisha VS. Ninja, also known as Geisha Assassin, which starts with people walking for several minutes before random fights occur. I think I saw about 25 minutes of this movie and I still had no idea what was going on. I am digging the Ninja stuff.
Posted by Henrik on August 17th, 2010The M.Night Shamalan BOOING during the devil trailer has happened to me TWICE during two different movies, in two completely different theaters. I couldn’t believe that it happened twice, this man has litterally become a laughing stock. They should seriously remove his name from the marketing from now on.
Posted by Regus on August 17th, 2010Good episode, although I disagree on the Lundgren part. I think he did an excellent job, he’s always good as a villain.
While Kurt was a welcome change, he is a bit dry and talked way too long about what he watched.
Posted by Kasper F. Nielsen on August 17th, 2010I had forgotten how HUGE Lundgren is! I too think he was the best part of the film, really changed my view of him. I want to see more!
Posted by rus in chicago on August 17th, 2010Hey did Kurt kinda spoiled parts of Inception during the Scott Pilgrim review with the “she’s in his dreams…” part? I haven’t seen Inception yet
Posted by Napalm on August 17th, 2010I don’t remember exactly what he said, but I don’t think he spoiled anything.
Posted by Sean on August 17th, 2010Ok good, because I immediately fastforwarded a few seconds.
Posted by Napalm on August 17th, 2010With The Departed making the Film Junk top ten of the decade and the positive reviews of Shutter Island and Inception, I was surprised that DiCaprio wasn’t mentioned as a top actor. I have noticed that I hesitate to tell certain people that I think he is a good actor because there is still some cheesy stigma attached from Titanic.
Posted by Xidor on August 17th, 2010When you guys were reading the character names from The Expendables, you skipped what may be the best one: Jet Li as Ying Yang!
Posted by Aaron on August 17th, 2010Stallone: Van Damme refused to lose to Li in ‘Expendables’ fight
Jean-Claude Van Damme refused to appear in Sylvester Stallone’s all-star action film “The Expendables” because he would have to lose a fight to Jet Li.
Stallone corralled a hitlist of Hollywood hard men to appear in the film, but “Universal Soldier” star Van Damme turned him down, because the Belgian martial arts expert failed to get the movie’s satirical undertones.
Stallone told Britain’s Sunday Times, “I wanted to set Jean-Claude against Jet Li, but he didn’t want to lose to Jet.
“He didn’t think that was cool. But that’s why it would be cool, to have Jean-Claude beaten by the other man. Hey, they could have a rematch. But Steven Seagal and Van Damme, they weren’t really into our gallows humor.”
Van Damme may well be regretting his decision to star alongside Stallone, Jason Statham, Li, Dolph Lundgren and Mickey Rourke in “The Expendables” — the movie shot to number one at the weekend box office.
Source: http://movies.msn.com/movies/article.aspx?news=586000&affid=100055
Posted by BigBrain28 on August 17th, 2010I’ll have to keep a look out for Goemon and Geisha Assassin, though typically I can only take so many ninja films at a time. It’s one sub-genre that I’ve never really been able to fully dive into. I think it may be because I always envision them as martial arts flicks when really the ninja is almost the antithesis of what I like in those kinds of movies. I enjoyed Ninja Assassin largely because I went into it thinking of it more as a horror movie than a martial arts film. I almost forgot, I caught Alien vs. Ninja at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival last night. The first half was mostly garbage, but it really kicked into gear for the second half when they stopped with the dialogue and got with the fighting.
Posted by Wintle on August 17th, 2010Everyone in my theater laughed at the Devil trailer when M Night’s name came up. And this clearly wasn’t an isolated incident. It breaks my heart that a man who showed such great talent and promise a decade ago is now a joke, and he’ll probably never recover.
Posted by Nate on August 18th, 2010Nate same thing happened at my theater. I heard one guy in the back say, “well, I guess they’re not getting my dollar now!” And everyone laughed.
Shyamalan is fucked. Which is too bad actually.
Posted by Andrew James on August 18th, 2010“While Kurt was a welcome change, he is a bit dry and talked way too long about what he watched.”
Kaspar, I kind of feel the need to defend here.
He actually talks for about 15 minutes less than Jay did on what we watched segment. And I didn’t find it dry at all.
Posted by Andrew James on August 18th, 2010I’ve tried to get into martial arts films, but after having seen Iron Monkey and a couple of Jackie Chan fights, they usually seem disappointing for me. Are there any martial arts movies with fights as good as in Iron Monkey? Preferably with the same amount of humour as well!
Posted by Henrik on August 18th, 2010Henrik, Mad Monkey Kung Fu seems to be the way to go. Funny as heck (if you like HK slapstick humour) with some absolutely insane choreography (no wires).
Other things to check out:
if you want to get your Big Trouble in Little China vibe on, check out The Bastard Swordsman (end fight is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjxMznS1hHI ) and the Return of the Bastard Swordsman. Gotta love the old-school ‘animate right on the film’ this style of SFX is timeless for me.
Posted by kurt on August 19th, 2010Thanks, I will try and check those out!
Posted by Henrik on August 19th, 2010Like any other genre martial arts films can be broken down into a wide range of different factions. Shaw Bros., swordplay, bashers, shapes, Golden Harvest, stunts, etc. It’s mostly a matter of sampling here and there, finding out which kind of martial arts movies appeal to you and exploring that section of the genre.
I would suggest dipping your toes in the kinetic wire-fu era of the early 90s as epitomized by Yuen Woo-ping. He directed Iron Monkey and three other films in 1993, so that may be a good place to start. I know Dragon Dynasty recently released one of them, Tai Chi Master. From what I remember it definitely has the same feel as Iron Monkey, though it’s been awhile and I can’t vouch that it’s as good. Also you may want to look into the Once Upon A Time In China series from the same time period.
Here’s a small sampling of various kinds of martial arts films to get you started if you’re looking for something different.
36th Chamber of Shaolin – The ultimate training film.
Posted by Wintle on August 21st, 2010Odd Couple – My favourite Sammo Hung flick.
Crippled Avengers – Venom Mob insanity.
Drunken Master 2 – Jackie Chan at his finest.
Born To Fight – Fantastic Thai gymkata movie.
Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky – Words fail me.
“Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky – Words fail me.”
ditto – oh so ditto!
Posted by Kurt on August 23rd, 2010Thanks Kurt for defending Scott Pilgrim.
It was great film. Good comedy, great visual elements and some pretty inventive action sequences.
Too bad Greg and Jay didn’t enjoy it. Can’t believe a visual element like “A Pee Bar” would annoy Greg so much.
Posted by Kamen Liew on August 30th, 2010Leave a Reply